Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

High schoolers use e-cigarettes to vape marijuana: U.S. studyNearly one in five high school students who said they used electronic cigarettes to vaporize nicotine also used them to vaporize pot, according to a survey of nearly 4,000 Connecticut teens. The study, published on Monday in the journal Pediatrics, is the first evidence that teens are using electronic cigarettes to vaporize cannabis, the researchers said.

Novartis to start human tests with Google lens in 2016Novartis plans the first human tests next year of a "smart" contact lens it is developing with Google designed to help restore the eye's natural autofocus. "This project is progressing well," Novartis Chief Executive Joe Jimenez told Swiss newspaper Le Temps in an interview.

Polio resurfaces in Mali from Ebola-hit Guinea: WHO

There is a high risk of polio spreading in Ebola-ravaged Guinea and Mali, the World Health Organization said on Monday, after a Guinean toddler traveled to Mali and became that country's first case of the crippling disease in more than four years. Preliminary tests by authorities in Mali's capital showed the 19-month-old was paralyzed on July 20, seven days before being brought to Bamako for treatment.

The strain of the virus is the same as one detected in Siguiri in Guinea's Kankan region, in August 2014.California company recalls cucumbers amid deadly salmonella outbreakA California produce company is recalling cucumbers imported from Mexico amid concerns they could be the source of a salmonella outbreak that has killed one person and infected at least 285 people in 27 U.S. states, authorities said. One person in California died after becoming infected with a strain of Salmonella Poona, and 53 people have been hospitalized since July 3, the U.S.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement on Friday.Pfizer's quit-smoking drug not linked to depression or heart risksPfizer's stop-smoking drug Chantix does not raise risks of heart attack or depression, contrary to previous reports, and should be recommended to more smokers wanting to quit, scientists said on Monday. In a study tracking 150,000 smokers in England for 6 months, researchers found that patients who took Chantix, known generically as varenicline and marketed as Champix in Europe, were no more likely to suffer a heart attack than those using nicotine replacement therapy or another quit-smoking drug.

UK backs use of Merck cancer immunotherapy after price discountBritain's healthcare cost-effectiveness watchdog NICE on Monday recommended use of Merck's immunotherapy drug Keytruda, after the U.S. drugmaker promised to supply it to the state health service at a discounted price. The move comes amid controversy over access to costly cancer medicines in the country.

On Friday, a fund that helps patients receive cancer drugs not routinely paid for by the National Health Service said it would no longer pay for a number of medicines.